Biden news: President calls Ukraine ‘Tiananmen Square, squared’ as he’s blocked from visit to border

President Joe Biden is visiting Poland, which is bearing the brunt of an exodus of Ukrainians fleeing the attack on their country.

Mr Biden’s first stop was the town of Rzeszów, less than 100km (62 miles) from the south-eastern border with Ukraine. He and President Andrzej Duda were briefed on the humanitarian relief response taking place and Mr Biden met with US service personnel stationed there.

In remarks, the president reiterated his belief that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal and described brave resistance of the citizens of Ukraine as “Tiananmen Square, squared”. The president also said he was disappointed that he was unable to cross the border to see the situation for himself, implying that the security concerns were too great — there had been much speculation about such a visit.

Both presidents will meet formally in Warsaw on Saturday.

The visit comes after a marathon series of meetings on Thursday with Nato, G7 and EU leaders in Brussels. Mr Biden said the extraordinary summit was a testimony to the unity of the US and its allies in the face of Russian aggression in Europe.

A number of new sanctions were imposed on Russia as leaders met, and the president said he also wants Russia removed from the G2. He stressed that it is the organisation’s decision whether to do so, adding that an alternative would be for Ukraine to attend as an observer.

Key points

• Biden told he cannot go to Ukraine border

• Biden: Ukraine should be able to attend G20 meetings if US efforts to expel Russia are unsuccessful

• Americans want Biden to be tougher on Russia as approval rating remains stagnant according to new poll

• US officially accuses Russian forces of war crimes in Ukraine

• Joe Biden warns Russia may use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine

Canada to boost oil exports

Thursday 24 March 2022 20:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Canada announced on Thursday it will boost oil exports by about five per cent to help address supply shortages in the west.

Defence Sec speaks with Ukraine counterpart

Thursday 24 March 2022 20:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin tweets that he spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov to reiterate the unwavering support of the US.

FBI deploys geo-targeted ads to recruit disgruntled Russians

Thursday 24 March 2022 20:40 , Oliver O'Connell

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reportedly attempting to recruit Russians disgruntled with president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine through targeted social media ads in Washington DC.

A Washington Post report published Wednesday said that the geographically targeted ads appeared on Facebook, Google and Twitter just outside the embassy but not when one is standing a certain distance away.

Sravasti Dasgupta reports.

FBI deploys geo-targeted ads to recruit disgruntled Russians as spies

Voices: Trump got banned from Twitter for spreading lies – so what do we do with Russia?

Thursday 24 March 2022 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Free speech matters – now, more than ever, writes James Moore. But what about when it is used as part of an orchestrated attempt to crush that of others, and to kill those who resist?

Trump got banned for lying on Twitter – so what do we do with Russia? | James Moore

Thursday 24 March 2022 21:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Congressional candidate quits campaign to join fight in Ukraine

Thursday 24 March 2022 21:32 , Oliver O'Connell

A candidate for US Congress quit his campaign to join foreign mercenaries fighting in Ukraine.

Mark Lindquist, the only Democrat running in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, defied White House advice and is joining Ukraine’s “International Legion of Defence”.

Justin Vallejo reports.

Congressional candidate quits race to join foreign mercenaries fighting in Ukraine

Full remarks by President Joe Biden at Nato Headquarter press conference

Thursday 24 March 2022 21:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Today marks one month since Russia began its carnage in Ukraine, the brutal invasion of Ukraine. And we held a Nato summit the very next day. At that time, my overwhelming objective, wanting that summit, was to have absolute unity on three key important issues among our Nato and European allies.

First was to support Ukraine with military and humanitarian assistance.

Second was to impose the most significant — the most significant sanctions — economic sanction regime ever, in order to cripple Putin’s economy and punish him for his actions.

Third was to fortify the eastern flank of our Nato Allies, who were obviously very, very concerned and somewhat at — worried what would happen.

We accomplished all three of these. And today, we’re determined to sustain those efforts and to build on them.

The United States has committed to provide over $2bn in military equipment to Ukraine since I became President — anti-air systems, anti-armor systems, ammunition. And our weapons are flowing into Ukraine as I speak.

And today, I’m announcing the United States have prepared to commit more than $1bn in humanitarian assistance to help get relief to millions of Ukrainians affected by the war in Ukraine.

Many Ukrainian refugees will wish to stay in Europe, closer to their homes. But we’ve also -- will welcome 100,000 Ukrainians to the United States with a focus on reuniting families.

And we will invest $320m to bolster democratic resilience and defend human rights in Ukraine and neighboring countries.

We’re also coordinating with the G7 and the European Union on food security, as well as energy security, and I’ll have more to say about that tomorrow.

We’re also announcing new sanctions of more than 400 individuals and entities aligned with -- in alignment with the European Union: more than 300 members of the Duma, oligarchs, and Russian defense companies that fuel the Russian war machine.

In addition to the 100,000 US forces now stationed in Europe to defend Nato territory, Nato established, as you already know, four new battle groups in Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Slovakia to reinforce the eastern front.

Putin was banking on Nato being split. In my early conversation with him in December and early January, it was clear to me he didn’t think we could sustain this cohesion.

Nato has never, never been more united than it is today. Putin is getting exactly the opposite of what he intended to have as a consequence of going into Ukraine.

We built that same unity with our European -- the European Union and with the leading democracies ... in the G7.

Biden evokes rise of Nazis as he’s asked whether Nato should fear Trump’s possible re-election

Thursday 24 March 2022 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Addressing reporters at a Nato conference in Brussels on Thursday, Joe Biden said he had no concerns about a potential face-off against his 2020 Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

A reporter for the German magazine Der Spiegel pointed out that there was a presidential election – to which Mr Biden quipped “you’re kidding?”

After a small shuffle of laughter, the reporter continued and posed, without stating the former president’s actual name, what the Biden administration is doing now to prevent all the work he’s doing here with Nato, at the alliance’s headquarters, from “coming undone two years from now”.

Johanna Chisholm reports.

Biden evokes rise of Nazis as he’s asked whether Nato should fear Trump’s re-election

Biden snaps at reporter over Russia sanctions question

Thursday 24 March 2022 22:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Joe Biden snapped at a CBS News reporter who questioned why new sanctions would have an impact on Russia changing course in Ukraine when previous sanctions failed to deter an invasion.

Justin Vallejo reports.

Biden snaps at reporter after question about Russia sanctions

Biden: Ukraine should be able to attend G20 meetings if US efforts to expel Russia are unsuccessful

Thursday 24 March 2022 22:35 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden has called for Ukraine to be welcomed at future G20 summits should US attempts to expel Russia be unsuccessful.

After meeting with European allies on Thursday in Brussels, Mr Biden told a press conference it was time to step up efforts to isolnull